1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for a fast thermal treatment of delicate components, particularly of components made by or used in the semiconductor industry, comprising heating in a reaction chamber by at least one heat source that is automatically controlled by a heating power controller and used to change the temperature of the components, and also relates to an apparatus for a rapid thermal processing of delicate components, particularly for a processing of components made by or used in the semiconductor industry, comprising at least one heat source, which is disposed in a reaction chamber and is automatically controlled by a heating power controller and used to change the temperature of the components.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Rapid heating is a highly versatile optical heating process, which can mainly be used in semiconductor technology. But applications in the production of other components used in microelectronics are being increasingly investigated, for instance in the superconductor technology, the production of novel types of solar cells or of ceramic products.
Rapid heating systems, sometimes described as "rapid thermal processing" (RTP) systems may be used in various material-treating processes for effecting sudden changes of the temperature and of the purging gas atmosphere. The total applied heat in thermal processing can be reduced by that method.
Numerous RTP systems can be used for a thermal treatment of non-structured, homogeneous materials in the form of disks or wafers, such as semiconductor wafers. Such wafers comprise various materials or coatings having a geometric or chemical structure, such as in-process wafers in the production of semiconductors, and often respond to a rapid and short temperature change by a formation of excessively large structural defects.
Such defects have been described in "Rapid Thermal Annealing Theory and Practice" by C. Hill, S. Jones, and D. Boys, NATO Summer School: Reduced Thermal Processing for ULSI, Boca Raton Fla., Jun. 20 to Jul. 1, 1988; in "Impact of Patterned Layers on Temperature Non-Uniformity During Rapid Thermal Processing for VLSI Applications" by P. Vandenabeele, K. Maex, R. DE Keersmaekker, 1989 Spring Meeting of the Material Research Society, San Diego, Symposium B: RTA/CVD and integrated processing, Apr. 25-28, 1989, and in "Temperature Problems with Rapid Thermal Processing for VISI Applications" Dr R. Kakoschka, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, B 37/38 (1989), pages 753-759.
All effects mentioned hereinbefore may be superposed in an RTP process.
Non-structured wafers or wafers having only minute structures will withstand conventional temperature fluctuations relatively well unless they are particularly delicate. But modern components are delicate and are not uniformly structured, as a rule, in the substrate wafer. The novel applications of RTP systems are restricted by the fact that too many defects are produced by rapid heating processes carried out in conventional RTP systems.
The following hardware effects are presently regarded as physical causes of inhomogeneities of temperature occurring in the RTP process: